Marketta Gregory never meant to be a columnist. \x34I trained to be a newspaper reporter -- one who tried to her best to be objective. I covered religion for a few years and felt like it was the best job a curious woman like me could ever have.
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Marketta Gregory never meant to be a columnist. \x34I trained to be a newspaper reporter -- one who tried to her best to be objective. I covered religion for a few years and felt like it was the best job a curious woman like me could ever have. Every day I got to listen as people told me about the things that were most important to them, the things that were sacred. But the newspaper industry was changing and few papers could afford to have an army of speciality reporters. So, I moved to cover the suburbs where, as luck would have it, they have plenty of religion, too. Eventually, children came into the picture. One by birth and another two months later by foster care/adoption. I struggled to chase breaking news and be home at a decent hour, so I made the move to what we journalists call the dark side: I took a job in public relations. (Don't worry. I work for a great non-profit, so it's not dark at all.) When I gave my notice at the Rochester (NY) Democrat and Chronicle, the executive editor asked me to consider writing a column on a freelance basis. She didn't want the newspaper to lose touch with its religious sources, and she still wanted consistent faith coverage. I was terrified. It took me about 10 months to get back to her with a solid plan and some sample columns. And so it began, this journey of opening up my heart to strangers.\x34

He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters… He rescued me because He delighted in me.” — Psalm 18: 16, 19bThis verse, this beautiful verse, is how Jenn Kelly starts her story of hope. Please, read on…
I take my son Jackson (he’s two), to the gym with me about three times a week. OK, maybe more like two times a week. They have a great day care there, so I don’t mind leaving him in able-bodied hands. ?Sometimes when we go, it’s raining miserably, or the wind is so strong and fierce that I have to carry Jackson instead of letting him walk by himself.
When I open the car door, I pull his hat down over his ears, I pull his hood up and I take him out of his car seat. When I pick him up, I say, “I’m going to carry you buddy, it’s very cold out.”
He squirms a little because being two he wants to walk on his own, because he is two, and he is very independent. But once that wind hits him in the face, I can hear his gasp of shock and he buries his face right into my shoulder to shield his face. I lift my arms up and wrap them tightly around him, cradling his head against me so the wind won’t whip his face. ‘I got you love’ I whisper to him over and over again to soothe and to let him know that I do indeed have him.
Jackson takes great comfort in knowing that mommy’s got him and I’m not going to let the wind take his breath away, nor am I going to make him be exposed to the harsh elements alone. His mommy has him tightly against her, holding him.
So many times in the past 6 years (since I’ve become a Christian), life has taken my breath away, the rain falling so miserably on my heart that I can’t stop crying, or the winds of pain and anger or disappointment come and shock me, taking my breath away.
How thankful I am that God pulls me tightly in, pulling hat down further on head, pulling my hood up and then cradling me into His big strong arms, and whispers to me over and over again, “I got you love, I got you love.”

Photo courtesy of Jenn Kelly

Jenn Kelly is the author of “Jackson Jones: The Tale of a Boy, an Elf, and a Very Stinky Fish” and its sequel, “Jackson Jones: The Tale of a Boy, a Troll, and a Rather Large Chicken.” You can learn more about her and her upcoming projects at her Website: www.JennKelly.com. You can also find her page on Facebook and follow her on Twitter. Look for @JennKellyauthor.

Today’s journal page was designed by Tawny Burgess, a a 20-something gal living in Chicago, writing her tales of the city, theology, and all sorts of pop culture. Read more about her at her blog, My Sanguine Life.